


Bleeding Touch

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Boundaries, Consent Issues, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump, a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:41:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24274504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Alex has always had issues with his leg. He doesn't mind if people look at it, since it's rather unavoidable in certain circumstances, and he can tolerate the touch of medical professionals, since he doesn't really have a choice, but outside of that? Outside of a hospital and a doctor he doesn't know? He can't stand for anyone to touch it. No one except-Normally, it's fine. It's easy to control when or if someone touches him. But when he's injured and he can't perform his own medical care, he has to make a choice.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 10
Kudos: 190





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> aka the leg fic

“Get the first aid kit!” Kyle yelled needlessly as they all stumbled through the front door. Alex left the others in his living room to grab the two first aid kits he had stashed in the bathroom. When he turned around, Jenna was already there to take them from him and he handed them over gladly. Relieved of that burden, he started rifling through the drawers and the medicine cabinet for anything that might help, knowing that the two kits weren’t going to be enough. He found extra strength pain killers and two bottles of nail polish remover and carried them back to the living room.

In the few minutes he’d been gone, the room was transformed into a triage center. Max was laying flat on the floor, his breathing surprisingly steady for the size of the blood stain on his shirt. Isobel was crouched over him, her hands pressed to his chest, clearly trying to will that familiar glow into existence despite the blood coating her own body. On the couch next to them, Rosa was wrapping Liz’s arm in her t-shirt, the blood already starting to seep through the cloth. Across the room, Kyle was bent over Maria’s still form while Jenna dressed the wound on his leg. Michael stood hunched over a couch in the middle of it all, trying to catch his breath. Alex handed him the first bottle without pause and the second went to Isobel. She took a few grateful sips before capping the bottle. Max would need the rest. 

While Michael sucked down enough acetone to prevent him from spilling his guts all over the floor, Alex went to the kitchen for water and vodka. Acetone only helped so many people in that room. When he came back, he handed the painkillers to Liz along with a bottle of water. She tossed a few pills back gratefully and turned her attention to her sister.

That done, Alex stood on the edge of the room and eyed everyone carefully. There wasn’t much more he could do, Kyle more than capable of helping the humans while the aliens took care of each other’s wounds, but Alex couldn’t do nothing.

“Manes, sit down,” Jenna ordered. She hardly spared him a glance as she neatly stitched Kyle’s leg back together.

Alex wanted to protest, surely there was something more he could do, but instead, he sank onto the one spare couch. He couldn’t contain the sharp hiss that came out as the movement pulled at his leg but thankfully no one noticed. Just like no one noticed that the growing blood stain on his pant leg wasn’t anyone else’s. 

“What the hell was that?” Rosa finally asked. She let out a short ‘ow’ when Liz poured vodka over her arm and started cleaning the blood away. Alex was going to have to get all new furniture after this; blood stains were a pain to get out of the fabric. “Well?” She asked when no one answered her.

The problem was no one _could_ answer her. The attack had come out of nowhere. They’d been having brunch at the Crashdown, a new thing they were trying on Sundays, when three military vehicles screeched to a halt outside and seconds later the diner exploded in gunfire. 

No one had escape unscathed.

It was a small blessing, or careful planning, that the place was nearly empty except for them. Only two other tables were full and most of the employees were in the back room, Arturo included. Alex and Jenna had managed to get almost everyone out alive. It would be a long time before Alex forgot the sight of Meredith Aires’ lifeless eyes; she’d been in the guitar club with him in high school and was one of the few people to seek him out when he got back last year. He squeezed his shut at the memory, her face lingering behind his eyelids with a sharp burn. “It was my father,” Alex forced out when the silence dragged on too long. He opened his eyes to see surprised looks on everyone except Kyle and Michael’s faces. “I saw him just before-” 

“Michael,” Isobel said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her. Beneath her hands, Max’s chest was barely moving. Isobel had improved her skills but she was losing too much blood of her own and she’d already healed Maria in the car on the way over. If they wanted to save Max, they needed Michael and Michael could barely heal. She reached out and forced the acetone bottle in his hand into his face. “Drink up.”

Michael obligingly took several large gulps before capping it with a third of the bottle left. He cast a concerned eye over at where Kyle was working on Maria before dropping to his knees and putting his hands over top of Isobel’s. “Just follow my lead, okay?” Isobel asked. She waited until Michael nodded before closing her eyes. Alex had never really understood what their process was but soon enough Michael’s hands and then Isobel’s hands started to glow. A few moments later, Max half sat up with a gasp. He sucked down lungfuls of air and Michael quickly diverted his attention. He finished the last of his bottle and stumbled over to Maria’s side.

They’d dated for a few months before deciding to ‘re-evaluate’ their relationship and Alex had no idea what to call them now. Maria insisted that she wasn’t his girlfriend, but Michael’s face told Alex something different. “Is she going to be okay?” 

“She needs a hospital,” Kyle replied tersely.

“We can’t,” Liz denied immediately. She had a hand clutched to the bullet wound in her arm but she was otherwise okay. “That was blatant. They shot up the diner in broad daylight. If we go to the hospital, they’ll find us.” It wasn’t anything that hadn’t already been discussed on the drive out to Alex’s house. They’d originally planned to get to Max’s but Alex’s was closer and they didn’t have time to spare. Alex could only hope that the security measures he’d put in place and his father’s general apathy about his son’s life would protect them but even he didn’t know how long for. 

“How bad is she?” Max asked. He was panting and his face was too pale but he was upright under his own power. “I can-”

“No,” Isobel protested. “You were almost dead a minute ago.”

“And now I’m not,” Max countered. “I don’t know how much I can help but I can do something if you need me to.”

Kyle didn’t answer right away. “Let’s see if she wakes up soon,” he offered. Maria had been gut shot trying to pull Meredith away from the window and she’d passed out in the car from blood loss. Michael had pulled the bullet out immediately and Isobel had healed what she could but Maria was still in bad shape. Kyle worked silently for a few more minutes before stepping away. He limped slightly from the injury on his leg but otherwise he was unharmed. 

“Who’s next?” He asked. 

No one replied right away. Finally, Rosa pointed at Liz. “She got shot in the arm.”

Liz shook her head. “It went through and I don’t think it hit anything. I’m okay for now. I can wait to get stitched up.” She nudged her sister. “You got a face full of glass and I’m not sure we got it all out.” It was true. Rosa’s face and neck was a myriad of small cuts. None of them were particularly deep but there were a lot of them.

“Isobel? Max?” He asked. “Alex?”

Alex waved him off as did Max. “I can wait,” Isobel insisted. “This certainly isn’t going to kill me.”

Kyle frowned but finally sat down next to Rosa and got to work making sure her skin was clear of glass and each wound was treated. Without a word, Jenna took a place next to Liz and unwrapped her makeshift bandage before quickly and neatly stitching up the wound. “Are you okay?” Liz asked her.

Jenna smirked. “I’ve had worse.”

“Not what I asked.”

Jenna held up an arm and showed off the two streaks of bloody skin. “Just grazes. I’m fine.” Liz eyed them but nodded.

The room fell quiet. Michael was holding vigil over Maria, his eyes watching her every breath carefully. Kyle and Jenna finished with Rosa and Liz before Kyle turned his attention to Isobel and Jenna poured a large swig of vodka straight into her mouth. “Alex, you good?” She asked.

Alex nodded. She eyed him like she wasn’t convinced. In all honesty, she shouldn’t be. Alex’s right pant leg was wet with blood and for good reason. While he hadn’t gotten shot, he’d slipped on the shattered glass that littered the Crashdown floor and his prosthetic had buckled under him. It twisted on his leg and glass somehow got through his jeans and in between his prosthetic and his leg. At first it was just uncomfortable, a chafing as it rubbed up against his sock, while the twisted position of the prosthetic itself made it hard for him to walk. He made it work and the blood he’d slipped in on the floor had covered up any of his own blood that was seeping through his pant leg. Because a good deal of it _was_ his. At some point the glass tore through the fabric of the sock and started cutting into the skin of his stump. 

The smart thing to do would be to remove the prosthetic, remove the sock, clear the glass out of his skin and treat it. But Alex wasn’t sure he could do that on his own and he _knew_ he couldn’t let anyone else do it. 

Alex had issues. He knew this, accepted it even. Rather than confronting and dealing with his issues, Alex preferred to simply ignore them. Case in point, he didn’t like people touching his stump. If there was a medical reason for it, he could force himself into allowing another’s touch, but other than that no one touched it. Not even during sex, with one notable exception. So for Alex to deal with his own injury today, he’d have to let someone put their hands on his leg in a way he was intensely uncomfortable with. The easiest choice would be Kyle; he was a consummate professional when he was working and Alex had enough experience with doctors to know how to handle that but Kyle was also his friend and he didn’t want his friend’s hands on him in that way. The harder choice (the only other choice) would be Michael but Alex couldn’t do that either. Once, months ago, it would’ve been fine. Michael’s touch was not only permitted but welcomed but this wasn’t then and after everything Michael had said about Alex and their relationship and how he wanted nothing to do with Alex anymore, Alex couldn’t imagine letting Michael near that part of him. 

“Alex?” Kyle asked. Alex blinked and Kyle was crouched in front of where he sat on the couch. He was clearly tired but he also clearly still ready to work. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” Alex replied instantly.

“Good,” Kyle nodded. “That didn’t actually answer my question, though.”

Alex glared. Kyle just stared stoically back. “I’m fine, Kyle. Help everyone else.”

“I did,” Kyle replied. Alex looked around in surprise and sure enough, everyone looked tended to. Even Maria was awake and sitting up, though Alex assumed Max’s hunched over form next to her had something to do with that. 

“Huh,” he huffed. How had he missed all of that?

“Alex,” Kyle said again. This time his hand hovered over Alex’s pant leg. The blood stain had grown significantly while Alex zoned out. “Are you hurt?”

Alex made a choice. “Yes,” he admitted. Kyle started to lower his hand. “But do not touch me.” Kyle’s hand froze and he looked up at Alex’s face in surprise. “I’m serious, Kyle. I do not want you touching my leg.” He looked around and spotted the open first aid kit. It had been ransacked but Alex was sure there was still something left. “Hand me that and I’ll do it myself.”

Kyle grabbed it without a word and came back to Alex’s side. “Are you sure?” He asked calmly. 

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Kyle agreed. He sat back. “If you change your mind-”

“I won’t,” Alex told him firmly. “I do not want you touching my leg,” he repeated. Kyle nodded in acquiescence. 

Kyle didn’t move far away though and with the rest of the group seemingly occupied, Alex pulled himself into an upright position and started tugging at his pants leg. It took considerably more effort than it should have and Alex had to consider for the first time that he was more injured than he’d thought. “Okay,” he relented. “I might need help getting my pants off.”

Jenna huffed from her spot on the chair next to him. “And you want _Valenti’s_ help with that?”

Alex allowed himself a small smile. “Maybe some scissors? Try the ones in the knife block,” he suggested. They were the strongest ones he had close by.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked when Kyle returned with scissors in tow. He sounded exhausted. “Alex?” He left Maria’s side to loom behind Kyle. 

“I’m fine,” Alex hissed as Kyle cut through the fabric of his pants and accidentally jostled the prosthetic.

“Yeah, you sound fine,” Michael snarked. “Why didn’t you say you were hurt?”

“Because I’m fine,” Alex didn’t look at him as Kyle pulled the torn cloth away. “Shit,” he breathed when he caught sight of the blood soaked sock. There was definitely a lot more than he’d been expecting.

“Do you need help getting it off?” Kyle offered quietly.

Alex was already shaking his head. “Same rules.” He knocked Kyle’s hands aside as he reached down to undo the straps. He got one undone before the whole thing twisted and dug glass deeper into his skin. “Fuck.” Alex held the prosthetic in place with both hands.

By now he’d managed to garner everyone’s attention and that just made it worse. He was normally fine with people seeing his leg, something he’d really had no choice in accepting, but the current situation was not ideal.

Kyle started to reach for him but paused midway. Alex could appreciate his consideration of Alex’s refusal for help but the blatant offer wasn’t helping. He took a deep breath and reached for the other strap but couldn’t quite get it undone before had to stop. With his pants out of the way he could see that he’d taken two bullets to the lower leg. One was lodged near the ankle joint and another was _just_ below where it connected to his leg. It was the second bullet that had mangled the prosthetic out of shape.

After a moment when nobody moved, Michael took a step forward. “Here,” he stretched his hands out. Kyle shot a hand out to stop him. 

“No,” Kyle said. “He’s got this.” Alex very much did not got this but again, he appreciated Kyle’s consideration.

Michael glared at Kyle before turning to Alex. “You can’t hold it and take it off at the same time,” he pointed out sensibly. He reached out again and Alex didn’t think. His left leg was in the air and planted in Michael’s chest just as he felt Michael’s fingers brush the skin of his knee. In an instant, he straightened his leg and shoved Michael back a step. 

“Don’t touch it,” he cried. Michael’s eyes snapped to his, realization dawning. Alex cursed himself. He’d never meant to tell Michael he was the only person permitted to touch Alex’s leg but it had slipped out one night. Now, Michael took a step back in what looked like shame and guilt as he realized he’d lost that precious privilege. 

The room was silent.

Alex fell back against the couch with a heavy sigh. “Fuck.” His leg throbbed.


	2. Chapter 2

Kyle didn’t know what to do. Alex was clearly in a great deal of pain and there was a concerning about of blood coming out of his leg. But Alex had clearly stated more than once that he did not want Kyle to touch him. As much as he wanted to help, there was no way he’d touch Alex without his consent. 

“Alex,” Michael said slowly. He hadn’t moved from where Alex had pushed him away with his foot. His hands were clenched in fists at his sides and there was an unreadable expression on his face but his eyes never left Alex. “Let me help,” he pleaded.

On the couch, Alex shook his head. He took a deep breath and sat up, his hands reaching for the mangled prosthetic. The room was quiet as Alex struggled with it, his unchecked hisses of pain echoing in the room. 

Jenna stood up from her chair. “We need to figure out if the Chief is coming here or not,” she glared at the others until they started to shuffle awkwardly out of the room. Kyle didn’t move. Neither did Michael. Jenna got them as far as the kitchen before they all stopped moving. There was a clear line of sight between the two rooms but it was far enough away to give Alex the pretense of privacy. 

Alex tried one more time to undo the strap holding the prosthetic on his leg before giving up. He sat back on the couch carefully, his eyes closed and his breathing unsteady. “Guerin,” he started, not opening his eyes. “Can you-” Michael was already moving- “use your powers to-” 

He didn’t get to finish the sentence. As soon as he’d said enough to give Michael the go-ahead, the straps were twisting themselves free and the prosthetic fell to the floor with a muted bang. Alex hissed at the relief in pressure. 

Kyle swallowed hard at what he could see. There were small pieces of glass stuck in the fabric of the sock and clearly digging into Alex’s skin but it was the larger piece, longer than a finger but very thin and apparently very sharp that was lodged in the base of his stump that worried Kyle. It was the source of most of the blood and it would make wearing a prosthetic next to impossible until it healed. 

“Okay, hand me the kit,” Alex ordered. He pulled himself into a upright position and shifted so that more of his right leg was braced on the couch. Kyle handed over the kit without a word. Alex placed it, opened, in the small space between his leg and the back of the couch and slowly rolled down the sock. Alex bit his lip as the pull of the fabric tugged the glass out and it was shortly followed by the sound of glass shards tinkling against the floor. “Oh,” Alex paused when it was almost off. He was starting to pale. “That’s not good is it?” He reached down and fingered the large piece of glass again. Kyle looked at it carefully. It was far enough into his skin that it was holding the sock on. To get it off, Alex would have to yank the glass out. And it was already bleeding more heavily than Kyle would like. Alex would have to work quickly to try and stitch it up, though Kyle had no idea how he would be able to from his angle. 

“Alex,” he had to ask, “there’s a lot of blood and you’re losing color fast. I’m worried you might pass out soon. If that happens, can I tend to your leg?” 

Alex didn’t reply right away, obviously considering it carefully. A pained look appeared on his face and vanished just as quickly before he shook his head. “No.” 

“Alex,” Liz reprimanded softly from the kitchen. “You won’t be able to do it on your own if you’re unconscious.” Alex shook his head again. His knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping the edge of the couch.

“Don’t touch it,” he ground out. Alex didn’t look away from his leg, though, didn’t even spare her a glance. “Just- don’t.”

“So what would you like me to do if you pass out?” Kyle asked. “I can’t call 911. I can’t take you to a hospital. If you won’t let me touch you, how can I help you?” He couldn’t let Alex bleed out on his couch but he honestly wasn’t sure how to prevent that.

“How handy are you with those powers?” Alex asked, his eyes flicking over to Michael for a brief second. “Can you patch me up without touching me?”

“Probably not,” Michael admitted. Kyle wasn’t sure if he could do it on a good day and he was far from having a good day right now. “That looks like you might need stitches and there’s no way I can do stitches with my powers. Especially not right now.” He looked genuinely upset about it. “I might be able to apply bandages or something but anything more…”

Alex closed his eyes and breathed in carefully. He didn’t look surprised. 

“Alex?”

“I’m thinking,” he spat out.

“Okay,” Kyle said, his voice sounding far more calm than he felt. “Well, while you’re thinking, do you want to get started?” He nodded at the open first aid kit. “If you don’t want to tackle the larger piece right now, I’d suggest cleaning the smaller cuts and putting ointment over them before putting a bandage on.”

“I hate to rush you,” Jenna sounded apologetic. “But I’m pretty sure we only have about 10 minutes before your dad shows up.” She glanced at her phone. “If that.” Kyle spared a thought to wonder just what she was looking at before deciding it wasn’t important. 

“Get everyone in the cars,” Alex suddenly sounded more alert. “There are two bags, one in the hall closet and one in my bedroom closet. Grab them. We can head to the Indian School. If that doesn’t work, I have a secondary location we can go to.”

Jenna headed straight for the closet. “That only helps if you’re conscious enough to tell us about it,” Maria reminded Alex. She slid off of the table and leaned heavily on Rosa. “You can’t help us if you’re-” _dead_ thankfully remained unsaid. 

Kyle was about to say something about respecting Alex’s wishes when Michael suddenly moved. He planted a knee on the couch between Alex’s own and gripped Alex’s knee tightly with his left hand while his right cupped Alex’s neck. He had his thumb under Alex’s jaw forcing him to look at Michael. Kyle jumped to his feet, ready to intervene.

“Don’t be stupid, Alex,” Michael said lowly. Kyle froze and the kitchen quieted. “You can’t protect me if you’re dead or passed out from blood loss. We need you to save us from your father _today_ so you need to decide what’s more important. Protecting us? Protecting _me_? Or your issues with your leg?” 

“Guerin,” Kyle snapped. “Back off.”

Michael didn’t even look at him. He didn’t look away from Alex at all, their eyes locked. Neither one of them said a word for at least a minute. In that time, the only movement either made was to press their foreheads together. 

Jenna appeared in the entryway, two large duffel bags in hand. “Why are you standing around?” She asked the group at large. “Let’s go!” Before stepping out the front door she spared a glance for the men on the couch. “They good?” Kyle shrugged. Jenna shrugged back and left. Liz and Isobel picked Max up and together they staggered after her. 

“Fine,” Alex finally said. It was quiet enough that Kyle almost imagined it. 

But Michael pulled back and looked Alex straight in the eyes. “’Fine’ is not yes, Alex.”

Alex closed his eyes. “Yes,” he said firmly. “You can touch my leg.” Kyle was already reaching for the kit. “But only you, Guerin.”

Michael looked over at the kit then at Kyle. “I’m not the doctor here, Alex,” he reminded him.

“No,” Alex agreed. “But if I have to have someone touch it, I’d strongly prefer it was someone who already has and not someone new.” A strange look passed over Michael’s face as Alex opened his eyes and met Michael’s in a steady gaze. Something unspoken was exchanged then, something Kyle knew he could never understand. 

“It’s like you people _want_ to get shot again,” Jenna grumbled. She crossed the distance from the front door to the kitchen table in a few quick strides. Maria’s arm was over her shoulder in an instant and, with Rosa’s help, they were soon out the door. “Hurry up if you don’t want to do that in the car!” She warned over her shoulder.

Michael didn’t waste any time pulling the sock all the way off and tugging the final piece of glass out of Alex’s leg. Alex grabbed his shoulder with a grunt of pain. 

“Shit,” Kyle cursed when the wound started bleeding heavily. The piece was larger than it seemed. He looked at the first aid kit but there weren’t any more supplies than there’d been a moment ago. “Guerin,” he said lowly, a soft warning in his voice. When Michael looked at him, he nodded at the kit.

“Shit,” Michael echoed. He moved his left hand from Alex’s knee to cup the other side of Alex’s neck. “Two options, Alex,” Alex blinked at him, his eyes unfocused, “either I do a very terrible job of stitching that up with too few supplies or I heal you.”

“Handprint,” Alex mumbled.

“Yes,” Michael affirmed. “It will leave a handprint.”

“ _Can_ you heal him right now?” Kyle had to ask. Michael had already healed Max and used his powers to get them out of the diner and the bullet out of Maria. He’d downed a bottle of acetone but he had to be maxed out.

“It’s Alex,” was all Michael said. Alex blinked slowly, his eyes more closed than open. “Hey,” he said softly, his thumbs stroking Alex’s cheeks. “Look at me, Alex.” Alex looked at him. “Needle and threat or alien magic?”

Alex’s dropped back with a heavy sigh. “Magic.” Michael’s hand was on his leg a moment later, his fingers curving carefully around his leg just below Alex’s knee. Nothing happened.

“Dammit!” Michael grunted. “Come on!”

Still nothing.

Alex brushed his fingers along Michael’s jaw. “It’s fine, Guerin. We can work it out in the car. We need to go.”

“We do,” Jenna concurred. Kyle didn’t hear her come back inside. “We’ve got maybe one minute.”

Kyle hurriedly packed up every remaining supply into one first aid kit and latched it shut before throwing it to Jenna. That done, he turned to Michael and Alex. “Come on,” he urged. “I’ll help you get him to the car.”

“Grab his crutches,” Michael ordered. “They’re by his bed.” Kyle glanced behind him to see Jenna already disappearing around the corner. “I’ve got his right side,” Michael shifted around Alex. Kyle was on Alex’s left in a second. Together they got Alex out to the car and into the front seat. It was a large SUV with three rows of seats but with all nine of them crammed in it was a tight fit; unfortunately they didn’t have any other options. The other car they’d driven here had two flat tires. So Michael got in first and Kyle helped him get Alex into his lap before jumping in the back. Jenna pulled away as soon as the doors were closed.

“Is he okay?” Liz asked from the back. She leaned forward to try and see past Kyle.

“It’s a little worse than we thought,” Kyle admitted. “How many medical supplies do we have at the lab?” Liz shook her head. 

“Maybe a basic first aid kit?” 

“Dammit,” Kyle said. They’d gotten too comfortable having alien healing powers around. “How much acetone?”

“Oh that we have a lot of,” Liz told him. She nodded at the front seat. “Michael kept us well supplied.”

“That’s one thing I suppo-”

“Alex?” Michael sounded frantic. Kyle leaned into Maria trying to crane his neck around the seat in front of him. Alex had gone pale and wasn’t responding. “Alex!” 

Michael wasn’t Kyle’s favorite person in the world but if he never heard his voice sound like that again, it would be too soon.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Michael grabbed Alex’s stump, his fingers slipping on the blood. “Goddammit, come on!”

There was nothing.

And then there was a glow.


	3. Chapter 3

They ended up needing the secondary location so it was a good thing Alex was conscious. Alex, or Jenna, Michael wasn’t exactly sure because he’d been a little out of it at the time, had spotted signs that the Indian School was compromised so Alex had diverted Jenna to his secondary location. Turns out it was his uncle’s house, not too far from the old school. 

Alex insisted it was safe, despite his father’s current proximity. No one wanted to argue with him so they parked the car as far away as they dared and trudged the last bit to the small house. It was surprisingly spacious inside, with one great room and a bedroom and bathroom. 

“We don’t have any acetone,” Liz pointed out as she and Isobel eased Max into a chair. “Our supply is at the lab.”

“There should be a bag under the sink in the bathroom,” Alex pointed to the appropriate door. “Should be stocked with basic medical supplies, toiletries, and nail polish remover.” Rosa grabbed it and dumped its contents onto the coffee table. Inside were two more bottles of acetone; one went to Isobel and Max, the other to Michael. 

“Maria?” Kyle crouched down next to her. She hadn’t complained once the entire journey but she had to be hurting. Max was able to heal the more life threatening aspects of her injury but he couldn’t heal all of it. 

“Got an painkillers?” She asked weakly. 

Liz fished the bottle she’d taken from Alex’s house out of her pocket and tossed it across the room. Kyle caught it in the air and quickly dumped out the correct dosage. “Here,” he handed it over. “Can I check the wound?” She nodded and leaned back for him to hike up her shirt and expose her abdomen. There was still a fair amount of blood on it but none of it was fresh. The puckered wound on her stomach was very fresh, though. Michael couldn’t look away from it, remembering the moment he’d seen the bullet enter her body and she fell to the ground. Michael would’ve sworn his heart stopped beating right then if Alex hadn’t gone down a moment later. And then his heart did stop. While Michael had been next to Maria when she was shot, Alex had been across the room and out of his reach. He hadn’t known then that Alex was fine, mostly, he’d just seen him hit the ground hard and not move for a moment. In that moment, Michael didn’t breathe and his heart didn’t beat.

Maria sucked in a breath when Kyle prodded the wound and Michael was abruptly brought back to the present. Dragging his eyes away from Maria he checked on Max and Isobel but both of them were okay. Max was as exhausted as he was and Isobel was cut up from the glass and a bullet graze but they’d gotten in here from the car mostly under their own power and that was all he could really ask for right now. It was certainly more than he’d managed, relying heavily on Jenna to get from point A to point B. Next, his eyes slid to Liz and Rosa. Liz was fussing over Max and checking on Maria but otherwise fine. Rosa looked a bit like she’d gone a few rounds with a weed wacker, her face and neck scratched up. She’d been sitting next to the window when it exploded in gunfire and had gotten an entire face full of glass for her troubles. He already knew Jenna was fine which only left…

Alex met his eyes evenly the moment Michael stopped trying to look away. He had a hand on his right knee, almost protectively. His jeans were cut at the knee, the bottom of the denim still soaked in his blood. Out of the crude short pant leg, Alex’s leg was unblemished. Michael didn’t _exactly_ remember healing Alex but he’d clearly done so. And he’d done so with Alex’s blessing, though the look on Alex’s face gave him pause. Michael held Alex’s gaze for a while, both enjoying the fact that Alex was alive and well enough to glare at him and trying to decipher the message in Alex’s eyes. 

He didn’t get very far when his stomach decided to rebel against his extended power usage and acetone intake. Michael barely had time to clamp a hand over his mouth before he was running for the bathroom. He had enough presence of mind to close the door behind him but only just barely. After a few minutes emptying his stomach contents, Michael rinsed his mouth out and attempted to rejoin the group. 

“Guerin,” Alex’s voice came from his right. Michael turned to see the bedroom door open and Alex on the bed. He didn’t say anything else but Michael didn’t even look at the others as he answered the silent beckons. Eyes burned into his back as he shut the door behind him.

“Are you okay?” Michael asked. It was silent out in the other room so Michael tried to keep his voice low enough not to be overheard. A single door could only block so much sound. “I’m sorry for what I said back there.” Alex froze. “It was cruel of me to force that decision on you but I couldn’t just let you die.”

“I wasn’t going to die,” Alex scoffed. “Loose a little too much blood maybe but the cut wasn’t enough to kill me.”

Tell that to Michael’s heart when Alex went still and pale in his arms. He’d been breathing, Michael knew, but it the sight of his unmoving body was enough to terrify Michael for life. “What should I have done?”

“Respected my choice,” Alex replied immediately.

“You said it was okay,” Michael reminded him. He’d waited until Alex said yes to touch him but he honestly couldn’t say what he would’ve done if Alex had passed out before he could. Part of him would like to think he’d do as Kyle clearly intended and respect his choices but it was a small part. Michael knew himself better than to think he could sit there and watch Alex bleed and do nothing. 

“I said it was okay because you manipulated me,” Alex’s voice was hard. “You framed it-”

“I framed it as it was,” Michael cut him off. “It was harsh, yes, and not what you wanted to hear, yeah, but I didn’t lie to you. We clearly needed you awake and coherent to get us here and away from your dad. If you’d been unconscious when we got to the lab what would we have done?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Alex barely spoke above a whisper, clearly aware of their nearby audience but he might as well have shouted for the impact his words had. Because, yeah, Michael did know.

He swallowed hard, ignoring the lingering taste of bile in his mouth. “You protect me, Alex,” he said quietly. “You always have even when I didn’t realize or appreciate it. You’re a self sacrificing moron who puts everyone above himself and I knew if I reminded you that our li- _my life_ ,” he amended softly, “relied on you letting me touch you, you would.”

“Regardless of how much I didn’t want you to.”

Michael flinched. “I know it’s a big deal to you but I’ve-”

“Things are different now,” Alex reminded him. “You made them different. You don’t get to keep the allowances I granted you when you tell me you don’t want to see me anymore, that being near me is too painful for you.” Alex sucked in a shuddering breath, his perfect control slipping just a bit. “I allowed you to touch my leg because I loved you and I trusted you with every part of me-”

“And now you don’t,” Michael finished for him, sadly.

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Alex warned, eyes flashing. Michael felt himself standing straighter in response. “It hasn’t changed, not for me,” Michael’s brain short circuited and he almost missed Alex’s next words, “but it’s hard to put that kind of trust in you again when I know you’re going to throw it back in face the next time you need to hurt someone.”

“No,” Michael denied instantly. He pushed away from the door and stood in front of Alex. “I would never do that, Alex. Never.”

“No?” Alex clearly didn’t believe him. “You’ve thrown everything else in my face, why not that?”

“I-” Michael didn’t know what to say. “I wasn’t trying to throw anything in your face,” Alex scoffed, “I just- I needed space and I need you to let me have it.”

“You could’ve just asked.”

“I did! And you were still there!”

Alex leaned forward. “Which one of us kept showing up at the other’s house? Which one of us kept asking the other for help? Which one of us wouldn’t leave the other alone despite very publicly moving on?” Alex shook his head. “You asked for space and I tried to give it to you but you kept showing up. And then you’d have to get in a parting shot every time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Alex sighed. “But I don’t want you to be sorry. I just want you to stop. Michael, I will give you whatever you need to be happy. You want space? I’ll stay away. You want to move on? I will champion your relationship so long as you’re happy. You want my help with something? I’m there. But for the love of God, stop being such an asshole about it.”

“I will,” Michael promised. “And I am sorry. I needed someone to hurt because it let me stop hurting for a just a minute and you just- you just took it and didn’t hit back and I don’t know maybe I was waiting for you to lose it? To get in my face and remind me how we ended up here?” Michael sagged against the wall, his new found energy leaving him. “You didn’t deserve that, though. Not any of it.”

“No I didn’t. But like I said, I’m here for whatever you need. If you need a punching bag so you don’t lose it on anyone else, I was happy to be that.”

“Dammit, Alex, I don’t want you to be happy for me to hurt you.”

Alex didn’t say anything. He just watched as Michael slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground. “Why’d you heal me?” 

“What the hell kind of question is that?”

“An honest one.” Alex stared at him evenly. “The past few months, we haven’t exactly been- well, anything, I guess. I was hoping we could be friends but I’m not sure we’ve managed it. You won’t come close to me let alone touch me so why volunteer to patch me up? Why argue with me when I said no? And why, when you were tapped out, did you try and _heal_ me?”

He looked genuinely bewildered and Michael couldn’t stand it. “Because I love you.” Alex flinched backwards in surprise. “Dammit, Alex, I avoid you because if I don’t I don’t know what I’ll do. I lose control of myself when you’re around but we were never good for each other so I needed some distance. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. That doesn’t mean I have ever not loved you.”

Neither one of them said anything. Silence filled the room, heavy with everything they’d never been able to say to each other.

“Why is it that it took my father trying to kill us for us to talk about this?”

“I don’t know,” Michael sighed. “We’ve tried?”

“Not really,” Alex denied. “When was the last time we had an actual conversation?”

“The day I found out you knew my big secret,” Michael answered right away. “And you walked away.” _Again_.

Alex sighed. “You show a guy the spaceship you’re building to try and leave the planet and you’re surprised when he needs a minute?”

Michael looked at him sharply. “You left because the reality of what I am scared you.”

Alex glared. “I left because you told me you’d spent a decade trying to get home. To your planet. Your planet which is not this one!” His voice rose at the end. “If I ever made you feel anything like how I felt looking at the ship, I’m sorry. Just- looking at it and seeing how hard you’d worked and how long you’d been working on it to try and _leave_ ,” he shook his head. “I couldn’t do it.” Alex laughed once. “I have the missing piece by the way. I had it with me that day because I brought it over to give to you but then you told me what it was for and I couldn’t. I couldn’t let you go like that.”

“Keep it,” Michael said after a beat. Alex looked at him in surprise. “There’s nothing to back to and even if there was my home is here. Keep the damn piece.”

“Michael-”

“That’s the second time,” Michael cut him off.

“The second time?”

“The second time you’ve called me Michael.” Alex still looked confused. “You haven’t called me that since-” since just before his last deployment. They’d had a fight when Alex called to tell him he was being shipped out. Even at the time, Michael had questioned how and why he was bothering to fight with someone he couldn’t see, hadn’t really seen in months, but he was terrified of Alex going back a third time and it had manifested in anger. Michael had never been sure what they’d fought about but they didn’t speak again until Alex came home and he’d been Guerin ever since.

“I’m sorry,” Alex said softly. “I didn’t realize.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t.

“No, it’s not.”

“Okay. It’s not.” Michael took a deep breath. “How’s your leg?” 

“It’s sore,” Alex admitted, nonplussed by the change in topic. Michael’s name wasn’t nearly as sensitive an issue as Alex’s leg but they were similar enough. “Even if I had a working prosthetic I don’t think I could wear it right now. Or for a while,” he conceded. He looked down at it.

“Your uncle got any clothes here?” Michael asked. After the events of earlier, he knew Alex had to hate the sight of his leg uncovered. 

Alex shook his head. “He’s only here maybe once a year so he doesn’t really keep anything in the drawers.” He nodded at the door. “There should be a few changes of clothes in one of the duffel bags, though.” 

Michael staggered to his feet without a word. “Gimme a second.” He pulled the door open and closed it quickly behind him. Seven heads abruptly looked away and tried to appear busy. Michael ignored them in favor of grabbing the two bags from where they’d dropped them by the front door when they’d come in.

“Michael?” Maria called softly before Michael could open the bedroom door again. Michael looked back at her. “Is he okay?” Michael nodded. “Are you okay?”

Michael frowned. “I’m fine.” Maria looked like she was going to say something else but Michael pushed the door open and shut the others out behind him. 

Alex looked up from the bed. “That was quick.”

“It’s a small house.” He dropped both bags in front of Alex and let him rifle through them.

“I assumed they’d want to talk to you.” He glanced up at Michael, a glimmer of a grin on his face.

“They’re not particularly subtle are they?” Michael sat back in his previous spot.

“They’re nosy as hell,” Alex agreed. “But they mean well.” He pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the bag with a faint ‘aha’. Michael closed both bags and respectfully looked away while Alex changed his pants. “We’re burning those,” he announced seconds before his jeans hit the floor.

“Fine by me.” Michael had half a mind to see if he could explode denim as well as Isobel exploded crystal. 

“Okay,” Alex said after a lot of shuffling. Michael turned back around to find Alex tying the right leg into a knot. When he was done, his shoulders lost a good deal of the tension Michael hadn’t noticed he was carrying. “Michael,” he looked up and met Michael’s eyes. “I let you touch me because you’ve done it before. If this situation ever comes up again, then I am giving you permission to touch my leg as needed _because_ you have done it before. I don’t want anyone else touching it.”

Michael nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of Alex’s words. “Okay. But Kyle-”

“No,” Alex cut him off. “I- I can’t explain it and I’m not expecting you to understand it but I need you to respect it, okay? Unless I am in a hospital, I do no want anyone touching my leg except for you. And even then, I would prefer if it was only as an absolute last resort.”

“Okay,” he said again. “I understand.”

Another bit of tension eased out of Alex. “Thank you.”

Silence fell again, lighter this time.

“You look good,” Alex said quietly. Michael scoffed, not even having to look down at himself to know he was a mess. “I mean it. You aren’t carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore. You’re _lighter_ and-” his lips quirked in a pale imitation of a smile, “you’re happy. It’s good to see. Maria’s been good for you.”

“It wasn’t Maria,” Michael replied.

“You don’t need to lie to me, Guerin.” He closed his eyes briefly. “Sorry. Michael.”

Michael made some kind of noise, he wasn’t sure what. “It wasn’t and I’m not. Being with Maria was great, _she’s_ great. But it was me.” He’d had a few long conversations with Isobel and even Liz about it because he’d thought the same thing. “I’ve been doing better because of me.” Alex’s smile looked a little more genuine. “I care about Maria, a lot. But we were never meant to last.”

Alex looked surprised. “What?”

Michael narrowed his eyes. “You know we broke up.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, Michael,” Alex replied. “You care too much about her to let her go.”

“I care about her, yeah, but not in the way she deserves. We’re better now. As friends.”

“Michael…”

“I love you,” Michael said. It was easier than he’d thought. He’d always imagined the words as having a weight to them and maybe they did. It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, wasn’t even the first time he’d said it to Alex, but it felt _more_. He shrugged helplessly. “We may be bad for each other. And maybe that will never change, maybe we’ll never be able to have anything real. But I still love you. And I will always love you. That’s not going to change.”

“I love you too,” Alex replied softly. “But-”

“But,” Michael nodded gravely. 

A sharp knock on the door stopped either one of them from saying anything. Whoever it was waited a second before cracking the door open. Jenna peered around the edge. “Well if I’d bet money on what was going on in here I would’ve lost,” she looked disdainfully at their careful distance and fully clothed bodies. Alex rolled his eyes at her.

“What?”

“We have a visitor.”

Both of them scrambled to their feet, Michael having to steady Alex when he moved too quickly. Alex grabbed his crutch and led Michael out of the room. 

“Flint?” Alex stopped short, his body blocking the doorway and thus Michael. “What are you doing here?”

“He know you’re here?” Flint asked. It seemed like a dumb question to Michael. If Jesse knew they were there they’d be dead.

“Just because you never talk to Mom doesn’t mean I don’t,” Alex replied. Right. Because this was their mom’s brother’s house. 

Flint raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply. “Dad’s going to figure it out sooner or later.”

Alex scoffed. “Dad likes to pretend Mom’s family doesn’t exist.”

“He found the School,” Flint pointed out.

“You-”

“Oh no,” Flint shook his head. “Grandmother would whip my ass if I took soldiers into that building. Like hell I took Dad there.”

Michael was fairly certain Alex’s grandmother was dead. “You shot me,” Alex accused.

Flint rolled his eyes. “I shot your metal leg,” he protested. “That hardly counts.”

“It hurt!” Alex confessed.

“I could have shot the other one,” Flint told him. Michael took a step forward but Alex didn’t budge so he just bumped into him. Flint raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t seem all that worried. “Dad’s got new funding and a larger unit. Even if he did forget this place existed, he’ll find you soon enough. You need to get out of here.”

“Why are you helping us?” Rosa asked.

Flint glanced at her then did a visible double take. “ _Rosa_?” Rosa rolled her eyes and didn’t deign to answer. “What the hell, Alex?”

“Long story,” Alex brushed him off. “Answer her question.”

Flint stared hard at his brother. “You got a choice, I didn’t.” Michael didn’t understand but from the way Alex stiffened, he did. “Now I am.”

Alex didn’t reply but after a moment he gave a sharp nod. “Thank you.”

Flint looked around the room. “You all look like crap.”

“Some assholes shot up a diner we were in,” Rosa reminded him. 

“And yet here you all are.”

“You killed Meredith Aires,” Alex said quietly.

Flint flinched. “That was a mistake.”

“That was a woman’s life,” Alex corrected. “She was a good person and you shot her because Dad told you to.”

“I didn’t shoot her!” Flint shouted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I tried to make sure everyone got out alive. I tried, Alex. But I’m one guy and I can’t control everything.” He opened his eyes and gazed evenly at Alex. “You’ve got a few hours maybe. You can stay here and rest or you can run and try and get a head’s start. But either way you don’t have that much time.”

“Thanks for the head’s up,” Michael said. “Now get out.”

Flint glared at him but he did leave when Alex didn’t argue.

“We should go now,” Jenna advised. 

“We need to rest,” Kyle argued. “We’re all hurt.”

“We can switch off drivers, let everyone else sleep,” Jenna shook her head. “He’s got military resources. Staying here is suicide.”

“She’s right,” Alex chimed in before anyone else could argue. “Pack up. We’re leaving.”

“And going where?” Isobel asked. “We can’t go back to Roswell, right?”

“No,” Alex agreed. “We can never go back to Roswell.”


End file.
